9mm or 40cal

im getting a new pistol soon, ruger. And im wondering if i should get 9mm or 40cal. I want to know how much more power the 40 has and which is better for home defense also how much cheaper 9mm ammo really is. Also might shoot coyotes coming through my yard which is better for those little sh!ts

I prefer the .40 but your best thing to do is shoot several different guns in .40 and also in 9mm and decide based on your experience. She which one you shoot better and like better after shooting both. Either the .40 or 9mm will stop a human or a coyote with a properly placed shot. The .40 is quite a bit more bullet but is also a snappy round to handle. Don't give up accuracy for power. The 9mm is a little less expensive but not enough to give up a better round. Is your life and the lives of those you love worth the $3 a box you'll save on ammo?

Remember a .22 directly to the heart will do more damage than a .45 to the toe. Shot placement is much more important than size of the bullet.

which caliber do you shoot more accurately with? that should guide your decision more than anything. if it's either one, then just flip a coin! personally i own both, plus many other calibers as well. if it's question of just adding another caliber, then go with the one that makes you happy. nothing wrong with owning different calibers and more guns, IMO, more the merrier! good luck with your choice.

It all boils down to your view on price and quantity of shooting. Obviously the 9 wins in this category. But if you are talking about the best ballistics and performance regarding defense. The 40 no doubt wins hands down. Let me give you a little story. In my past life I was a Range Master and Trainer for a Metro PD. We had pipe constructed turning target stands on our range. One day I was gone while another agency used the range. When I returned the next day the stands were demolished. Before when the stands were hit with a 9mm in dented the stand piles but little major damage. Well the agency that had used the range on that day had just went to their new 40 Cal. Pistols. When the 40s hit the stand pipes they destroyed them literally! And about $700 - $1000 worth of damage and to repair the uprights! After experiencing the difference in power it was not long before our agency went with the 40. It is a close to the 45 ACP that you can get. So ballistic wise the 40 hands down compared to the 9mm.

03

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Fixed that for you. Come on. If my wife were to see that other people are okay with one of each, she'll get to thinking that I'm okay with one of each. And I'm not...

Seriously though, it all depends. Good 9mm ammo goes a long way toward narrowing the gap between it and .40. Good .40 will always be better, but 9mm isn't the "I shot a bad guy with my 9mm and all it did was piss him off" thing that you will hear some .45 ACP guys make it out to be. 9mm is SERIOUSLY cheaper to shoot if you are using bulk 'White Box" stuff, but the price difference isn't quite as pronounced when you get into better ammo. And if you can take a Yote with .22lr, 9mm will do just as well. Taking Yotes with .22lr might not be best (might not be legal depending on where you live), I'm just saying that it has plenty of power for that. I do wonder about taking a Yote with a pistol out at 50yds or so. You must be a bit better than I am!

In the end, Josh has it right. Buy one of each. In the beginning I swore I would use .380 for my pocket CC pistol and 9mm for everything else (to save money). Yeah... A couple each of 9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, 10mm, Tokarev, and .22mag later...